1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuit interrupters generally and, more specifically, to a DIN rail adapter used for mounting an interrupter to a DIN rail.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Molded case circuit breakers and interrupters are well known in the art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,408 issued Mar. 5, 1985, to Mrenna et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,760 issued Jun. 8, 1999 to Malingowski, et al., each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and incorporated herein by reference.
In many applications, a circuit interrupter is mounted onto a conventional DIN rail. For this purpose, a DIN rail adapter is normally connected to the bottom of the interrupter's base. Such a DIN rail adapter typically includes a slider that can slide within guides of a backplate. Stabilizers are often implemented in the backplate to help prevent lateral tilting of the slider within the guides. A spring is connected between the slider and the backplate for biasing the slider in a direction corresponding to a closed disposition wherein the slider and the backplate cooperate to engage a DIN rail. A stopping mechanism is used to limit the movement of the slider in the aforementioned direction. The slider can be pulled in the opposite direction, against the spring tension, in order to obtain an open disposition wherein clearance is provided for positioning of the adapter on the DIN rail before engagement is made.
Unfortunately, prior art DIN rail adapters have included stabilizers that require forming, bending, or curving of the backplate material in order to be provided. Such manipulation of the backplate material increases the tooling and manufacturing costs of the backplate. In addition, prior art DIN rail adapters have included stopping mechanisms that require multiple members and additional material in order to be implemented. Furthermore, prior art DIN rail adapters have required the installer to manually hold the slider against the spring tension in order to maintain the open disposition while the adapter is being correctly positioned with respect to the DIN rail.
In view of the above, it would be advantageous if a DIN rail adapter existed having effective stabilizers that could be easily and conveniently made in the backplate without requiring forming, bending, or curving procedures. It would also be advantageous if a DIN rail adapter existed having an effective stopping mechanism that employed fewer members and that did not require additional material. It would further be advantageous if a DIN rail adapter existed that did not require the installer to manually hold the slider in the open disposition throughout the installation process.